Thank you Naruto
by AnimeWriterFreak
Summary: AU! No Ninjas! Gaara always tries to end his life, but Naruto's always been there to stop him. Not Yaoi! Gaara/Naruto friendship! Alive!Kushina Alive!Minato Suicide! Character death (sort of).


"Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki! Where on earth have you been?! Bed empty, no note, car gone, you could have died! You better tell us where you went and give me the keys to your father's car!" Kushina yelled at her only son. She stood with her hands on her hips and glared at him.

Minato stood next to her, arms crossed but more concerned than angry. "Naruto, where were you?" He asked gently.

Naruto scowled to the side. "I went nowhere."

"Stop lying and tell me the truth! It's bad enough you stole your father's car, now you won't say anything."

Naruto sighed in frustration. "I didn't go anywhere. Nothing happened."

Minato frowned. "If nothing happened, why didn't you tell us you were going out?"

"I forgot okay? I thought I would only take a while, but I lost track of time. Can I go now? I want to go to sleep." Naruto made is way to stand up, but Kushina grabbed his shoulder.

Naruto swallowed thickly, trying not to shiver. He could practically feel his mother's anger.

"Oh no you don't. You, mister, are grounded for a month. No phone, no electronics, no friends or going out. And no ramen!" Naruto flinched, but didn't say a word.

Jerking out of her grasp, he stiffly dropped his phone into her waiting hand and walked up the stairs to his room.

"Minato! He's starting to get out of control! This is the sixth time this month he's sneaked out!"

Minato rubbed his tired face. "I know Kushina."

"He's your son! Do something about him!" She said exasperated.

"And what do you suggest we do! He doesn't care about the punishment obviously, and talking to him does nothing."

Kushina frowned. "Oh, he better not be doing drugs, because..." She cracked her knuckles menacingly.

Minato chuckled nervously and took a cautious step back.

The telephone rang, making the two stop.

Kushina went and picked it up. "Hello?"

_"*sniff* Kushina-san?"_ A hoarse voice asked.

"Yes? This is she. Who's calling?"

_"Oh, sorry. *sniff* It's Temari. I-I'm sorry if I woke you up, I tried waiting until you woke up." _

Kushina burrowed her eyebrows. "Temari-san, are you crying?"

There was a pause before Kushina heard Temari sobbing. She glanced at Minato, worried, before calling out to Temari. "Temari-san! What's wrong?"

Temari tried to stop crying to talk. _"N-no, it's-it's just, I want to th-thank Naruto so mu-huch."_

"Naruto? What did he do?"

_"*sniff* Gaara tried to kill himself last night. H-he sa-haved my little brother."_ Kushina's eyes widened.

* * *

Naruto laid on his bed, staring up at the ceiling blankly. His bedroom door opened and his parents came in. He glanced at them and turned on his side away from them.

"Naruto..." His mother called out to him. He grunted in acknowledgement. She came closer and sat down on his bed. She began to run her fingers through his hair, combing it.

Naruto closed his eyes.

"Temari-san called right now." She said. "She told us...that you saved Gaara from killing himself."

Naruto opened his eyes and sat up.

"Is that where you went?" Asked Minato.

"Yeah."

"And the other times as well?"

He nodded.

"We're going to lift your punishment. Do you want to talk about it?" Naruto shook his head. "...Okay. Tell Gaara he's welcome here anytime." Kushina kissed his forehead and walked to the door.

Minato came and ruffled his hair. "I'm proud of what you did Naruto. Friends are one of the most important things in life."

His parents walked out, leaving him alone.

Naruto thought of what happened tonight and let a tear drop down his cheek.

* * *

_***RING**RING**RING*** _

_Naruto blindly reached out for his phone, yawning._

_"'ello?"_

_"Naruto?" Hearing Gaara's voice, Naruto woke up more._

_"Hey Gaara, what's up?"_

_"Sorry, did I wake you?"_

_"Nah, it's okay. What happened?"_

_"...I...I just called to say goodbye." Naruto sat up, alert._

_"What? What, are you going away on vacation or something?" _'Keep him talking.'_ Naruto reminded himself as he pulled on clothes._

_"...Yeah, I'm going on a long vacation...I want to thank you for being my friend Naruto."_

_"You don't need to thank me Gaara. Where are you? Are you home?" Naruto's heart raced as he ran out of his room and snagged his dad's keys._

_"I'm going to miss you Naruto."_

_"No, Gaara wait! Don't do this! Please! Think of everyone who loves you!"_

_Naruto quickly went outside, starting the car._

_"...No one cares about me."_

_"Yes we do! Where are you Gaara?" Naruto's voice cracked. There was silence on the other end. "Gaara! Are you there?!"  
_

_"I see the stars Naruto. The stars are so close to me." The line went dead.  
_

_"Gaara!" Naruto hit the wheel in frustration. '_Stars?-Stars!'_ Naruto thought back to the spot on the hill they shared. It looked over the town, and was the highest point to look at the night sky._

_With determination filling him, Naruto drove over to the spot, passing the speed limit. _'Hold on Gaara.'

_Reaching the hill, he barely managed to park the car before running up the hidden path, his heart beating against his rib cage. He got a stitch in his side, but he didn't dare to stop. _

_Making it to the top, he saw Gaara at the edge of the cliff._

_"Gaara!" Naruto yelled._

_Gaara turned, and in his surprise, his foot slipped, and he began to fall backwards. _

_Adrenaline and horror filled Naruto's system. With new found energy, he sprinted to Gaara, barely catching him by his arm._

_"Let me go! Let me die!" He screamed. Gaara shook, trying to get out of Naruto's grip._

_"Stop it Gaara!" Naruto strained to keep a hold on him. _

_"No!"_

_"Please! Don't kill yourself. Nothing good will happen if you do!"_

_"I don't want to be in this damn world anymore!" Gaara growled. "No one loves me, they'll be happy when I'm gone!"_

_Naruto gripped Gaara's arm with his other arm, trying to pull him up. His muscles were protesting, but only the sight of Gaara in a bloody puddle sixty feet below kept him hanging on. _

_"People love you! Think about your siblings! Sasuke, Kiba, and everyone!" Tears began to form in Naruto's eyes. "What about me? I'll miss you, I'll mourn and regret not being able to stop you."_

_Gaara stayed quiet._

_"Don't do this."_

_"Temari and Kankuro hate me! I killed my mom! Father wants me dead! I'm finally granting his wish!"_

_"Gaara! You may not realize, but a lot of people will be sad if you die! If some people don't like you, they can go fuck themselves! You'll only prove them right if you die! Prove them wrong. This is not worth dying over. Our friends will help, **I'll** help you, just don't die."_

_Gaara's eyes flashed with emotion. Looking at the ground below him, he turned his head to Naruto, tears streaking down his cheeks. "I don't want to die." He whispered._

_"Grab my hand." _

_Gaara placed his hand in his, and Naruto pulled Gaara up. Safely away from the edge, Naruto grabbed Gaara in a bone crushing hug, ignoring how wet his shirt was becoming. _

_"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, sorry," Gaara chanted. _

_"It's okay, just never do that again, you hear me?" Gaara nodded, trying to calm down. "Let's get you home."_

* * *

Naruto wiped the lone tear away.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Getting it out, he saw it was a message from Gaara. **'Thank you.' **Naruto smiled.

* * *

**WARNING! BELOW THIS MESSAGE IS THE ALTERNATE ENDING! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!**

**.**

**.**

**.**

* * *

Naruto stared blankly ahead as the priest continued to speak. The church was silent other than Temari's crying.

"Would anyone like to say a few words?" The priest asked.

No one moved for a moment before Naruto stood up. He walked over to the podium, bowing his head when he passed the statue of Jesus.

He gripped the sides of the podium and cleared his throat.

"Gaara...was one of my best friends. We've known each other since we were five...and he's confessed to me I was his first friend. Gaara was lonely. He said little, preferring to observe. He was lonely, but a good-no, he was a great friend to me. He got picked on a lot, due to his hair, insomnia, and other things. Over this past year, he's tried to take his life, but I always stopped tried to stop him. And every time I did, he would thank me. But this time..." Naruto's voice cracked as tears formed. "This time I was too late...I wish I could have stopped him in time, and have him thank me again. Gaara will always have a place in my heart, and I will never forget him..." Naruto cut himself off, as tears raced down his face.

He stepped down, going back to his seat, and placed his face in his hands, trembling. Sasuke rubbed his back.

* * *

_Five years later_

Naruto walked up to Gaara's grave and smiled. "It's me again Gaara. I did it. I proposed to Hinata. She was so happy, she fainted." He chuckled. "We're planning to have the wedding in Spring. I wish you could be here and attend. I miss you."

* * *

_Two years later_

Naruto walked up to Gaara's grave with a baby in his arms.

"Hi Gaara. Sorry I haven't visited, Daisuke is a handful. I brought him here to meet you. You know his name is Daisuke Gaara Namikaze? He looks like me but has Hina-chan's eyes. We have another on the way, dattebayo. I miss you Gaara."

* * *

_Sixty-five years later_

Naruto slowly walked to Gaara's grave, minding his fragile back.

"Hi Gaara. Look's like I'm going to be joining you and Hina-chan soon. My life was good, I ust wish you could have been there with me. See you soon." Naruto walked back to his son's car, grinning.

* * *

**A/N: Ohmygawd I am so sorry for killing off Gaara! My friend made me do it! **

**I wanted it to end all nice and stuff, but she forced me to kill him, since she thought the story would be better with him dead! **

**Anyways, I hope you guys like this story, even if it is kind of sad.**


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